Tag: Bullfinch

2 Bullfinches showed for a bit, plus my usual garden birds.

Interestingly no Long-tailed tits, that I saw today, but I did get the 3 others that visit the garden. Ā Once again it was a busy day of DIY and trying to get a fair bit done on other websites in particular (UPDATE: saverscene now CLOSED due to moving to carer in horticulture hope to have my gardening website up early 2019) that ones about bargains and finance in Australia, very similar to the UK one, a few friends asked me to set it up as itā€™s often hard to find info on finance, deals & bargains on websites in Oz. Ā Ā Just new so taking up a fair bit of time finding resources, meaning little time for bird watching again.

I did get outside a few times to take Chewie (my dog) out and a trip to B&Q, I noticed that theĀ crocuses are now pushing through the snow and flowering which was great to see! Ā Thereā€™s also 1Ā daffodil ready to come show, itā€™s sitting all bright and yellow amongst the snow.

Hereā€™s my garden bird list for today, great to see Bullfinches back:

  1. Blackbird x 4, 3xM 1xF
  2. Black-headed Gull x 1
  3. Blue Tit x 1
  4. Bullfinch x 2 ā€“ male and female
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Dunnock x 2
  7. Great Tit x 1
  8. Magpie x 1
  9. Woodpigeon x 4

A very warm day in Edinburgh and a great day of birding and gardening!

Wow what a wonderful day in Edinburgh, I actually think I got sunburnt! Ā It was definitely T-shirt weather, great for being out in the garden and there were a lot of birds around, finally got a full set of tits that visit my garden in one day, hereā€™s the list:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1 Male
  4. Carrion crow x 2
  5. Coal Tit x 1
  6. Common Buzzard x 1 -flying the lowest Iā€™ve seen it over my house. Ā Very awesome!
  7. Dunnock x 2
  8. Feral Pigeon x 1
  9. Great Tit x 1
  10. Long-tailed tit x 2
  11. Magpie x 2
  12. Woodpigeon x 2

Not sure where the chaffinches, robins and wrens have got to this year, the wren hasnā€™t even made it on the list yet and weā€™re over 2 months in!

Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™ll have internet access for the next few days, so donā€™t worry if Iā€™m not here. Ā I will try and do the finance updates for SaverScene & Saver Scene AustraliaĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) and any bird lists that I get to see if I have internet access, if not theyā€™ll be a few days late, but will keep record.

Watched the Rugby, more DIY and few birds about.

What a wonderful day for Scottish Rugby! Ā Today started with snow, a lot of snow but a few hours later there was almost none lying, by the end of the day it was just a boggy mess. Ā I would have expected a lot more birds around however thereā€™s also a lot of insects about so the birds arenā€™t needing the feeders as much as a few weeks ago. Ā Itā€™s amazing how many moths are about, talking to others theyā€™ve had almost none but Iā€™m having to remove and release up to 5 a day from the house, so there should be a lot more out and about. Ā Hereā€™s my list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Bullfinch x 1 ā€“ female
  4. Dunnock x 1
  5. Feral Pigeon x 1
  6. Magpie x 2
  7. Woodpigeon x 4 ā€“ really showing mating behaviour today.

Garden Bird List, Scottish Birdfair 2 for 1 tickets and Wexford Starling Murmuration!

A very quiet day in the garden, a couple of magpies back and 1 female bullfinch which was a delight to see, but the weatherā€™s turned cold again and the birds are back to feeding rapidly and not showing much in the way of breeding behaviour.

If youā€™re thinking of going to the Scottish Birdfair ā€“Ā www.scottishbirdfair.org.ukĀ ā€“ thereā€™s currently an offer on until the 17th of March 2013 where you can get early bird 2 for 1 tickets! Ā You just have to use the voucher codes: Day tickets ā€“ 241RSPBDay or Weekend tickets ā€“ 241RSPBWeekendĀ Iā€™m hoping to go for the weekend this year, I enjoyed last year but only got a day ticket and went on the wet Saturday where there were 2 hour lines for food, hopefully food tents are better prepared this year!

Hereā€™s my garden bird list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Bullfinch x 1 ā€“ female
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 2
  6. Great Tit x 2
  7. House Sparrow x 3
  8. Magpie x 2
  9. Woodpigeon x 1

you may have noticed thereā€™s still no Starlings, Iā€™ve been watching the Monkey Puzzle tree opposite to see if they roost in there each evening and all Iā€™ve seen in the last few 2 days is woodpigeon and magpies, however the tree does make for a great silhouette.

Monkey Puzzle tree silhouette

Monkey Puzzle tree silhouette ā€“ you can also see the silhouette of a woodpigeon just to the left.

although Iā€™ve not seen any starlings about thereā€™s some great scenes in Wexford Ireland:

Wexford StarlingĀ Murmuration

Thanks to BirdGuides Ireland & Edward DelaneyĀ for this video.

Starlings gathering together at at roost site in one of natureā€™s most amazing spectacles, a murmuration. And what makes it even more amazing is that no-one really understands why they perform these amazing aerobatics. Enjoy!

If you want to try and see a starling murmuration yourself BBC Winterwatch have put this list together:Ā Where to experience a starling murmuration this winter.

Donā€™t forget the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend!

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is starting tomorrow so make sure you count your birds and submit it, more here: Big Garden Birdwatch AdĀ andĀ The RSPB: Big Garden Birdwatch. Ā I had another first for the year, anĀ Oystercatcher, not in my garden although I have seen one in the past during the very wet July of 2012 and we live on a hill! Ā It was on a field on Carrington Road Edinburgh.

Hereā€™s my Garden List:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1
  4. Coal Tit x 3
  5. Greenfinch x 4
  6. House Sparrow x 2
  7. Long-Tailed Tit x 2
  8. Woodpigeon x 3

And the 1 Oystercatcher:

  1. Oystercatcher

The SOC Laurie Campbell nature photography exhibition and snow!

Managed to get out to Aberlady to the SOC Waterston House to see the newĀ Laurie Campbell nature photography exhibition ā€“ find out moreĀ as with all of Laurieā€™s work it was fantastic! The crowd was very small, by the time it was closing only 1 other person was there, however we didnā€™t get there until quite late due to work and slow going on the roads due to snow.

With the snow I thought thereā€™d be a lot more birds in the garden, especially as I was outside filling the feeders at about midnight so I knew theyā€™d be full for the morning, hardly anythingā€™s been touched, hereā€™s my list so far, hopefully update later in the day:

  1. Blackbird x 4
  2. Black-headed Gull x 2 ā€“ fly overs
  3. Blue Tit x 2
  4. Bullfinch x 3
  5. Carrion crow x 1 ā€“ fly over
  6. Coal Tit x 2
  7. Dunnock x 3
  8. Greenfinch x 1
  9. House Sparrow x 9
  10. Robin x 1
  11. Woodpigeon x 3

Chris Packham and Winterwatch Madness, my garden bird list.

Just watching BBCā€™s Winterwatch on the iplayer ā€“ I donā€™t have a TV licence so canā€™t watch it live ā€“ I had started noticing that Chris Packham has been adding Madness song titles, but I donā€™t know enough of their songs so I probably missed a few. Ā My gardenā€™s been slightly quieter today, but I hope to get a bit more bird watching in later during a lunch break. Ā I did get lucky and spot 2 bullfinches out of the window whilst watching winterwatch:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Bullfinch x 2
  4. Coal Tit x 2
  5. House Sparrows x 5 ā€“ added 12.47
  6. Woodpigeon x 3 –Ā updated 12.47

BBCā€™s Winterwatch great footage of Long-tailed Tits, Garden bird list.

The snow is still lying on the ground but there seems to be very few birds around in my garden. Ā Iā€™ve just been watching BBCā€™s Winterwatch episode 2; if youā€™re a fan of Long-tailed Tits thereā€™s a great piece about 9 or 10 minutes in: BBC iplayer WinterwatchĀ Iā€™ve only seen them roosting once before, but not nestling down, just a pure accident. Ā Hereā€™s my garden bird list so far, hope to update later in the day.

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Black-headed x 2, One of them didnā€™t have a tail, it seemed to be doing very well though!
  3. Blue Tit x 3
  4. Bullfinch x 3Ā Ā –Ā updated 11.13
  5. Carrion crow x 2
  6. Dunnock x 1
  7. Herring Gull x 1
  8. House Sparrows x 5 –Ā updated 11.13
  9. Magpie x 1
  10. Woodpigeon x 3

Out for a gentle stroll to the park.

As many regular viewers of the site would know Iā€™ve had 3 torn ankle tendons in the past 4 years and major screw ups from the NHS causing long lasting pain but I was a landscape photographer (canā€™t currently work at that) and really NEED to walk! Ā Itā€™s my hobby, my job, my passion! Ā So when I feel I can do some I get out for gentle strolls with a walking stick, whilst atĀ Saint Margaretā€™s Park I saw my first Pied Wagtail for the year, plus a few other birds:

  1. Carrion Crow x 5
  2. Pied Wagtail
  3. Woodpigeon x 2

Sparrowhawk in the garden a new bird for the year list.

Another new bird for the year list, a SparrowhawkĀ almost hit me in the face, okay it was about 60Ā centimetresĀ away, but for something moving at such speed it seemed very close.

How I got to the point of having a sparrowhawk 2 feet away from me; there were few birds in the garden, just 1 blackbird so I thought better take the dog out and check if thereā€™s a cat lurking in the back undergrowth as there often is. Ā The dog went crazy sniffing the ground and it was obvious to him that a cat had just been there, but I didnā€™t see it, about half a minute passed and the tinkle of the catā€™s bell over a neighbours fence gave it away (good on the owner for putting a bell on it) and the dog went into a quick barking fit, then all fell very silent, still no birds and the cat was away. Ā I bent over to pick-up some litter that had blown into the garden and as I stood up there in my face was a sparrowhawk coming straight at me, it changed just before collision. Ā Well what seemed like a collision point to me, to it Iā€™m sure it felt it had hours toĀ divertĀ itā€™s course.

This is only the second time Iā€™ve seen a sparrowhawk in the garden, first for this year, last time it was hunting and not in a way Iā€™d seen sparrowhawks hunt before it was actually going to ground then entering the dogwood shrub that is next to one of the feeders and flushing birds out that way, instead of circling the shrub or hedge and getting the birds to fly out. Ā I was surprised at how well it went into the hedge, I got some video footage but it was on a small digital camera and rather rubbish as due to my cerebral palsy I shake so much. Ā The other thing I noticed that day was how different the small birds alarm call was to when they see a cat, they obviously have a different call for sparrowhawk than they do cat predators.

Hereā€™s a list of the 9 different species Iā€™ve seen today, the Magpies are back in decent numbers, not as many as on Christmas day but theyā€™re being just as noisy:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Bullfinch x 1 (male)
  4. Chaffinch x 1
  5. Coal Tit x 2
  6. Dunnock x 1
  7. Herring Gull x 1 (flying over)
  8. Magpie x 11
  9. Sparrowhawk x 1

12 different species of birds in my garden today, plus a photo of a Coal Tit.

I was hoping to get out and see the waxwings that were near Murrayfield today, however due to the tyre blowout on Christmas Eve and not been able to get it repaired during the last week over Christmas/New Years as everything is closed, my wife canā€™t drive me anywhere (I canā€™t drive at the moment due to my ankle tendons popping out when I press the accelerator) so once again my what birds Iā€™ve seen today comes from the garden, Iā€™ve added a photo of a coal tit I shot a while back, hope you like it. This maybe the longest list of species for one record so far:

  1. Blackbird x 3
  2. Blue Tit x 2
  3. Bullfinch x 1 (female)
  4. Chaffinch x 1
  5. Coal Tit x 3
  6. Dunnock x 1
  7. Great Tit x 1
  8. Greenfinch x 5
  9. Herring Gull x 1
  10. House Sparrow x 3
  11. Magpie x 4
  12. Woodpigeon x 4

The photo of the coal tit on a bird seed feeder:

Coal tit

Coal tit on Garden bird feeder.

Seed and feeder supplied by the RSPB.